A behavioral foundation for understanding unethical populist leadership

Purpose This contribution is set up as a conceptual paper aimed at the development of a framework for a behavioral explanation and a moral assessment of populist leadership. Design/methodology/approach A literature review is performed, resulting in 16 propositions. The propositions can be used for a QCA study. Findings The framework is conceptually extended to the exercise of control by trust and distrust in the relation between leaders and potential followers. The dominance of symbolic expressions in the contest for leadership is covered by the theory of social comparison. These concepts help to explain why and how specifically unethical populist politicians gain advantages over ethical populist and non-populist competitors. Research limitations/implications The propositions are still conceptual in nature. A research design is not yet developed just like testable hypotheses and measures. Practical implications The paper offers a new and comprehensive approach for understanding and moral assessment of populist leaders. Social implications The paper offers new ideas for the response from constitutional democracies on the threats of unethical populist leaders. Originality/value A behavioral approach to populism and unethical leadership is provided. New is the integration of psychological fields of personality, social motivation, perceptions of control, trust and distrust dynamics and social comparison processes. The integration led to a considerable reduction of theory to explain human agency and leadership.